"Comparing Pledges"... Football Coaches Association Shifts from Criticizing to Supporting Chung Mong-gyu

"Policies Disappointing Football Community Face Unrelenting Criticism"

The Korea Football Coaches Association (Coaches Association) has declared its support for the current Korea Football Association (KFA) president, Chung Mong-gyu, who is seeking a fourth term in the KFA presidential election.

On the 6th, the Coaches Association issued a statement saying, "Having decided not to field its own candidate in the 55th presidential election, we faced the situation of having to choose one among the three candidates running," and added, "After carefully comparing and reviewing the pledges presented by the three candidates, we have decided to actively support candidate Chung Mong-gyu."

Candidate Chung Mong-gyu, who is running for his fourth term through the 55th Korea Football Association presidential election, announced his pledges on the morning of the 26th of last month at the Football Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The KFA presidential election is scheduled for the 8th. The Coaches Association stated that it underwent various internal verification processes and in-depth discussions before declaring support for candidate Chung Mong-gyu. The five key verification criteria set by the Coaches Association were whether the candidate ▲ possesses proven management skills and accumulated experience to advance Korean football to the next level ▲ has concrete and feasible pledges ▲ is willing to implement personnel renewal within the association and retrain executives and staff ▲ supports professional coach education programs and can address on-site difficulties ▲ and, considering objective public opinion, has an inclusive personality and leadership befitting the president.

Based on these criteria and a comprehensive evaluation of the visions presented by the candidates, the Coaches Association asserted that candidate Chung Mong-gyu is the most suitable. Finally, they emphasized, "Even if a new executive team is launched, we will closely discuss and willingly cooperate on progressive and future-oriented visions and agendas. However, we declare that we will continue to offer relentless criticism and checks against policies or decisions that betray the aspirations and expectations of football people."

Previously, as recently as September last year, the Coaches Association held a critical stance toward candidate Chung Mong-gyu. At that time, they stated, "For the development and future of Korean football, all of us football people and coaches demand new leadership and call for the immediate resignation of President Chung Mong-gyu." They continued, "The repeated mistakes, incompetence, and irrational management during his tenure have long proven that President Chung's regime can no longer continue," and pointed out, "Recently, with nationwide criticism of the Football Association intensifying, President Chung and the current executive team have completely lost the trust of the public and football fans."

They also criticized, "Korean football, which should be a source of hope and comfort for the people, is causing great disappointment to the public and football fans due to opaque decision-making within the association and poor performances in international competitions," and warned, "If he continues to cling to his position or attempts a fourth term, it will only hasten nationwide resistance, including from football fans." However, two days before the election, the Coaches Association suddenly changed its position to 'actively support' President Chung Mong-gyu.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.